God Only Know What I'd be Without You
by TheLordOfThePants
Summary: After Emma spends the night helping Dylan watch Norman after Norma runs off, they both see sides of each other that they never thought they'd see. Con't from middle of season three. Pairings: Emma/Dylan Norma/Alex R.
1. Chapter 1

"I could stay here and help out, just sleep on the couch or something?" She said eyeing him as he came down the stairs.

"Emma, you know I couldn't ask you to do that I-"

"You didn't, I offered." She smiled despite the circumstances, Dylan couldn't handle this all by himself and although he would never admit it, Emma could tell he was pretty shaken up, they all know Norma's a "bit" irrational sometimes, but this was new, she had never walked out before. Plus she was happy to help Dylan out, they had grown a lot closer over the last few months due to Norman's more frequent episodes, and it was not like she minded spending time with Dylan.

" _Once you get past the tough exterior, he's a really sweet guy."_ She thought to herself.

"Thank you so much Emma, as long as you don't mind." He came the rest of the way down the stairs, and headed towards the kitchen with Emma following in-suit with her "pet". He honestly didn't know what he would do without her support with Norman especially when Norma ran off like she did just then..

"Of course I don't mind Dylan, to be honest.." she paused to stand up her oxygen tank up next to the table and sit down at the end of the table. From above they both heard footsteps walking around where Norman's room was.

"Shit." They said in unison.

Emma got up from her seat and started heading towards the stairs to see what was waiting for them at the top, Dylan followed her until they reached the base. "Hey, Emma, let me go first just incase… you know, just follow me." He knew how dangerous Norman could be when he got mad, he thought about one of the first times when he showed up in White Pine Bay and Norman took a few swings at him, that's not something he was willing to let Emma take the brunt for.

She nodded silently and let him cut in front of her, they both headed up the stairs to Norman's room. He motioned for her to move against the wall incase he ran out or something. ' _He's so goddamn unpredictable, thanks Norma.'_ Emma watched as Dylan opened the door, she silently shuffled closer to the doorway as Dylan stepped into Norman's room.

"Hey Emma, can you come in here for a second?" She peaked her head around to see Dylan a few paces behind Norman who stood unmoving at the window. She moved over to where Dylan was.

"I think he's sleepwalking, look at his eyes, see." She pointed to his dead stare unblinking at the window, Dylan nodded. Although she could hear Norman mumbling something, she looked up to Dylan.

"I don't know, he's always has a dead stare like that." Dylan smirked. Emma stifled a laugh that made Dylan smile even harder.

"Oh, come on that's not nice!" She tried to pull of a serious demeanor, but with Dylan's shoulders starting to shake with silent laughter she knew she couldn't keep it up, she cracked up. It took a minute, but they stopped long enough for Emma to suggest that they should put him in Norma's room. " I think he would feel safer in there, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're right, but let me do it, I don't want him freaking out and smacking you or anything." He smiled down to her before he stepped closer to a sleep-standing Norman. Emma obliged and stepped out into the hallway and listened for Dylan and Norman approaching the doorway. She looked around, some people would call this house spooky considering it did kind of look like one out of a 50's horror movie, Emma found it captivating, all the character it had, she liked to think of the families that had lived there before the Bates moved in, of course the owner who lived in previously was a terrible man, that did not deter her from thinking some truly great memories were encapsulated in this house. A tapping on her shoulder quite literally snapped her into reality, the jump caused her to breathe in too quickly and set off her coughing.

Dylan's eyes widened as he backed up, "Oh god, Emma, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She continued to cough gripping his sleeve as she half doubled over. ' _I am a damn idiot'_ he thought helpless to he coughing.

In between breaths she gained her posture and looked up at Dylan, he looked so worried, this wasn't his fault. "Hey, hey, it's not your fault, it's these crappy lungs." She pointed to her chest and smiled, this caused him to ease up. "This has nothing to do with you, and usually it's my dad who gets the honour of helping me out with it, but all this crap builds up in my lungs and gets stuck to the sides and it won't come out on its own. I know it's a lot to ask but do you mind banging on my chest?" In her eighteen and a half years, she had never felt so awkward, but even before the coughing she had started to feel it in her lungs. She braced for a some sort of disgusted face from Dylan, who could blame him, it's gross.

"Sure Emma." Instead of a grimace, his face was soft, not like he pitied her, but he understood that she needed him. "What do I need to do?" He asked balling his hands up into fists. She couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Not here, let me lay on the floor in the bathroom. I'll talk you through it." Emma led him to the bathroom where she layed down on the floor. It was funny to see Dylan towered so high above her.

He watched as she got to the floor. He felt awkward as hell just standing above her like this, although it really didn't bother him helping her out, the more time he spent with her, the more comfortable he was around, not that he wasn't before.. ' _Snap out of it Massett.'_ he reminded himself. "What do I do now?" He smirked kneeling down next to her.

"Okay, it's simple, you're gonna cup your hands like this," she cupped her hands and he mirrored her, how strange she must look to him, "and then- this is where it gets interesting- you're gonna bang on my chest like this." She hit her chest with her hands how she needed him to.

"Okay, so like this?" He awkwardly placed his hands over her chest and hit where she had told him. He had a hard time hitting right where she had told him, "Emma, do you mind if I-" he gestured his head to the side, thankfully Emma got what he meant.

"Yeah, go for it." He could hear her wheezing below him as he placed his legs on either side of her, careful not to sit on her. He began hitting her chest gently until she started coughing again and turned on her side. Dylan backed up and let her continue to cough, he began to wonder if he'd done something wrong.

Her hair covered most of her face, but she worried he'd see her cough up the green phlegm that resided in her lungs. She tried to reach for the toilet roll that was on the counter next to where she was laying.

"Let me." She heard Dylan say from behind her. She felt a wad of tissues being pushed into her hands.

"Thank you Dylan, I'm so sorry, it's disgusting, I know." She quickly wiped up the floor and her mouth. Regaining her breathing after doing this was always a struggle for her.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about." He couldn't believe how strong Emma was, having lived with this almost her whole life and she acts like it's nothing. He cautiously reached his hand out to her back and softly rubbed circles over the dark purple fabric of her sweater. "You don't have to be embarrassed around me Emma, ever." He meant it, she meant a great deal to him, having known her for two years and all, it's hard not to like Emma.

She sat up and kneeled next to him, he continued to run his hand over her back unconsciously, "Thank you Dylan, this really means alot to me." She smiled to him, he meant a great deal to her, ' _I mean, I know I've always kind of liked Dylan, but something is definitely different.. focus please Emma.'_ she realized she was still kind of staring at him, he gave her a questioning look.

"What?" He chuckled she looked lost, and he realized he was still running his hand over her back, "Oh! Sorry, my bad." He pulled his hand from her back. ' _God what the hell am I doing. Emma is my brothers ex-girlfriend... '_ he thought how they never really "went out" but still he definitely realized something was different between them, but he couldn't let her know what was going through his head, so smiled and stood up. "Here, let me help you up." He offered both of his hands to her to get off the ground.

"Thank you, again Dylan, really I'm sorry you had to do... that." Emma continued to feel bad about what had happened earlier. Dylan had helped her down the stairs to get some coffee, it was evident that regardless whether or not Norman was sleeping soundly or not, just the excitement of the night caused both Emma and Dylan to be wired.

"For the last time Emma, it was my pleasure." He passed her a mug, no hinted sarcasm at all. Do you want to watch the TV or something, play the piano, take all the books off the shelf, I don't know.." He was trying to be cool, really. ' _When did I turn into Norman with my social skills?'_

Rarely was Emma ever at the house without Norma or Norman in her immediate company, and when they dated,' _If you can even call it that..'_ She and Norman mostly just studied, "Actually, I do have something I want to show you, but I don't want it to wake Norman up."

"It's a big house, I don't think he'll hear you, plus he sleeps like the dead." He laughed, his heart quickened, what did Emma wanted to show him? She turned from him and walked over to the piano, he thought she was heading for the bookshelf, but then she sat at the bench where he had seen Norma sit and play with Norman a few times before. He walked over to lean against the couch diagonal from where Emma was. Her hands were poised hesitantly above the keys, and then she softly struck down.

Only her father had heard her play, though she rarely got the chance to have an audience. Emma had began playing right around the time she was diagnosed with CF, her father thought it would be good to focus her energies, and well at first she didn't take, she grew to really enjoy playing, it had gotten her through a lot of rough times. She remembered when her father surprised her with their piano when she was nine, a beautiful wooden piano that she still kept in her room.

She knew exactly what she would play, she was nervous, even though it was only Dylan, well, rather because it was only Dylan that she was playing for. She started playing softly at first, slowly, this song was not meant to be rushed. It felt nice to play, since she had gotten sicker, she hadn't found herself as drawn to paying, and she realized that she missed it. It wasn't until she heard a quiet voice behind her, singing along. "Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say. I did something wrong, now I long for yesterday…" he faded out.

"Oh, don't stop." She stopped playing to look at him, his face was tinged pink.

"No, no, you should hear you play, oh my god you're good." He smiled, and walked over. She smiled up at him.

"Would you like to sit?" She scooted over to make room, it was a large bench, surely they could both fit. Anything she could do to try to get Dylan to sing again.

"Uh, sure." He slid next to her, "I mean it, you play beautifully, what else do you know?" He turned to face her, and she took it as a small chance to play through some of the things she knew.

"Well there's these, I guess." She played through little snippets of different songs she'd learned over the years, finishing with one of her personal favourites, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.

"Wow. You're amazing Emma, how come I never knew you could play?" Dylan had watched in wonderment as Emma's hands gracefully floated over the keys.

"Well, this is Norma's, I don't usually play for the general public, mostly my dad, well only my dad until now." She laughed, Dylan was still smiling though he was now looking at the keys. "Do you want me to teach you something?" She asked, almost a little too eagerly, she liked this, and she liked how she felt playing next to Dylan.

"Uh, I can't play at all, I'd mess it up." He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, Dylan, you won't," she bumped him with her shoulder, "and if you hate it we don't ever have to do it again." He smiled at that.

"Fine." He caved, whatever he could do to get Emma to be nearer to him would be great.

"You've seen Big, right." He nodded, "Okay, remember the scene with the big floor piano?" again he nodded, "perfect, I'm gonna teach you the little duet from that, sound good?" She figured she couldn't go wrong with that, a little duet about hearts and souls couldn't do any harm, she smirked to herself. "Just repeat after me."

It took only about five minutes and Dylan had gotten it down, he felt so proud to have learned it, though he would never let on. He had always been a little envious of Norma and Norman when they would play together, but now he had someone to teach him, and it wasn't Norma, which was an outstanding plus to the situation. Emma never yelled.

"Wow, yeah, that's perfect!" she positioned her hands lower on the piano. "Okay, so you're gonna play that over and over again, while I play this," she quickly played through the accompaniment, " and yeah!". Dylan smiled at this, she seemed to be having as much fun as he was. "Ready?" she asked.

"Let's do it." This time it was him who bumped her shoulder, and they started to play.

Once Emma started yawning, Dylan knew he should let her sleep, she was too nice to say that she was tired, but he knew, and after some grumbling she agreed to take his room instead of the couch. "I honestly don't mind sleeping on the couch Dylan honestly!" She grumbled, but in the end he won.

"Emma, here, it would make me mad if you didn't take my room, after all you've done for me.. for _us_ tonight." He said from the doorway, "I don't know if this will help any but I've got some extra clothes in here you can sleep in if you want." He grabbed a faded blue shirt and the one pair of flannel pants he owned and passed them to her, luckily Norma had just done the laundry, and his room was clean.

"Thank you Dylan." She grabbed the clothes from him, and before she decided against it, wrapped her arms around his middle. At first he tensed up, but almost immediately relaxed and reciprocated the hug. "It's all going to be okay Dylan, with your mother, and Norman."

He rubbed his hand over her shoulder blades, "Yeah, I know." Dylan smiled at her words. "Now promise me you'll get some sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I will. You too." He let go, and turned once to look back, she stood still looking at him "Night Dylan."

"Goodnight Emma." He turned and walked downstairs replaying the events of the night over in his head, given the circumstances, the night had gone well. Only, despite being 2:30 a.m, the night was still young for Dylan Massett who had began to feel drowsy himself when he heard a series of noises from the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma woke up late that morning, ' _too late',_ she thought to herself rolling to her side, she shifted the cannula to be more comfortable in her nose. She used to hate it, always having something on her face and not being able to get it off, but now it's just another part of her. She looked at the clock, _11:04_ , late. She wondered why she wasn't roused earlier when Dylan woke up, she thought about the night before, given the circumstances, it was a wonderful night. She made her way to the door, that's when she saw it.

" _Emma, sorry to leave you to an empty house… Norma showed up early this morning, and she's taking Norman and I to see Caleb… I'll call you later okay? -Dylan"_ She once over'd it and placed it on her bag, she was happy that things seemed to have gotten better.

She made the bed look as presentable as she could, then she rushed out to her little red bug to head home, she was hungry, but eating their food when they weren't home didn't feel right, plus, she would be needing to get a new oxygen tank soon, this one was feeling dangerously light.

Down at the other end of White Pine Bay, Dylan had watched as Caleb broke down in front of their mother, pleading for forgiveness, and in his 21 years of being alive, he'd never seen Norma have such a normal reaction, she hugged her brother and forgave him. Things would never be normal between them, but it was oddly satisfying to see his parents together and not screaming at each other, regardless the complicated situation it was.

Norman, on the other hand did not look happy with this rekindled relationship at all. That was _his_ mother, and it was meant to be just _her_ and _him_ , like they always talked about, why couldn't she see that yet?

Dylan turned to look around, the cabin really was in a beautiful location, about twenty feet from where he was standing, there was a large and beautiful lake, it was much less barren and empty than Arizona where he used to live, ' _Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind the weather though, but this place has a better person… I mean people.'_ Dylan broke his trance from staring at the lake, Norma and Caleb were both sitting on the ground talking, Norman was kicking sticks on the ground, he figured no one would mind if he stepped aside for a moment.

Emma was just coming from her room when the phone rang. She had called her father last night to tell him the situation, well, most of the situation, and William Decody was an understanding man and he told her to have fun, and that his thoughts were with Dylan and Norman. "Hello?" She didn't get a chance to look at the phone before she answered it.

"Hey, it's Dylan, sorry for running out on you this morning, Norma came back and there wasn't much time to do much anything but follow her." He laughed nervously.

Emma glanced at the letter still sitting on the top of her bag, it made her smile to know that he took the time to write it for her. "Oh, don't worry about it Dylan, I'm just happy she's home, and talking to Caleb again. It sounds like things went well?" Emma had known about Caleb for a while now, Norma had let it slip in front of the three a few months prior, the way Dylan acted around her for a while, she tried to always make it up to him, after all, that didn't change anything between them.

"Yeah, they did. I just wanted to say thanks so much for all your help last night, it seriously meant a lot to me… us I mean." He looked around to see that Norma and Caleb were standing up and talking now.

"No problem Dylan, it was my pleasure, really!"

"I want to make it up to you though Emma, why don't you say we have dinner one night or something?" He tried to play it off as smoothly as he could, he never had problems with the ladies before, why should he start now.

Emma's heart skipped a beat. "Really, I'd like that very much!" she paused, "Oh, before I forget, I left pretty quickly this morning, so I wouldn't be in the way if you guys got home, and I kind of took your clothes with me, sorry." She looked at the folded clothes on her bed. "Don't worry I washed them and everything." She hated this when she got nervous she started to ramble. ' _Breathe Emma.'_ She thought to herself.

"Okay, good! Awesome! And oh don't worry about it Emma, just text me or something when you're gonna bring 'em over. And cool, how does Thursday sound?" He almost held his breath as he waited for her answer.

"Thursday's good!" She said excitedly. ' _I know it's just a thank you, but I'm excited.'_ She needed to calm down a bit, after all it was just Dylan, tall, muscular, sweet Dylan. ' _S t o p.'_

"Okay great, yeah you can just give 'em to me then if you'd like, kill two birds with one stone." He laughed.

"Sure, sounds good, and Dylan?" She bit her lip waiting for him to reply.

"Yeah?" He didn't know what she was going to say, and that made his heart beat faster.

"I-I'll text you later." She stuttered out, she didn't know what she had planned on saying but that was a lot easier for her to get out.

"Definitely." He had to admit he was a bit disappointed with it, he didn't know what he expected, or if he expected anything, he just knew things were different between her and him since last night, he wasn't sure if it was good yet, but as he walked back to his big blue truck, he decided it was.

Thursday came quicker than expected, and Norma inadvertently threw a wrench in his plans. After all the fuss with sheriff Romaro being shot, and Caleb not being tabooed anymore, Norma decided that she was going to throw an impromptu dinner for everyone. God knew she loved to cook, and this was the perfect occasion.

Dylan made his way down the stairs to see if Emma was still at the front desk, he looked at his watch, it was only four, and she worked until four forty five on Thursdays. He stepped into the little lobby. "Anyone home?" He stepped into the office.

"Oh gosh, Dylan sorry, I had just stepped out to grab refill this." She lifted up her purple water bottle.

"It's fine… Slow day?" He looked at the wall, many of the keys were still on the board.

"Yeah, not one person checked in or out today. So essentially, the slowest." She went back to her place behind the counter, she hadn't forgotten about their plans tonight.

"Hey, so Emma, about to night.." he paused. ' _Oh no, he doesn't want to go anymore.'_ She thought. "Norma has decided to go all out on a big dinner for the family tonight, and I can tell she won't take no for an answer." He looked down, he felt like she would think he was cancelling on her.

"Oh, Dylan that's fine! You should have dinner with them!" She was so happy that things were going so well. "I have your stuff in my car I can give it to you before I leave, which is very soon actually." She smiled at him, he deserved to have something nice going on in his life for once.

He looked at her, she was just getting up to switch the sign from open to closed. "Actually Emma," she turned around to face him.

"Yeah?" she placed the sign back on the door now marking the motel was closed.

"I was wondering if you'd like to join me, and obviously this doesn't make up for it, and you're practically family anyway, and it's not like Norma wouldn't love another mouth to feed-" he could his face getting red as he continued to talk "-I'd love for you to join us."

"I'd love to join you Dylan." She smiled, the room felt about ten degrees warmer, but he had actually wanted her to stay for him, and he called her family, how could she say no to that.

"Awesome." He breathed a sigh of relief. "She's started cooking, so we can head up whenever." He offered.

"Sounds good," she opened the door, the air was just starting to get that September nip to it, "I'll grab your stuff."

He followed her to the car to give her a hand. And they walked up to the house together, of course Norma was delighted to see Emma, telling her to make herself at home, Norman stood by her side peeling vegetables, she was surprised though to see sheriff Romaro there, holding his arm in a sling.

"Got shot at." He smirked when he saw her staring.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, I hope you're okay!" She felt horrible.

"Yeah, perks of being an officer." She heard Norma scoff from the sink, she offered her help, and when Norma declined she made her way to the living room where Dylan was sitting on the couch with the television on, his feet up on the coffee table.

"Hey." She smiled when she walked in, looking to see what was on.

"Miss Decody, you look wonderful tonight." He smiled winking at her, causing her to cover her mouth and laugh. "Come sit, I don't usually bite." This caused her to smirk again.

"Thank you Mr. Massett, this is the same thing I always wear, but thank you." She sat on the couch next to him, but she was careful not to get too close, just incase. "When did we get so formal with each other?" She teased. He just smiled at that.

Caleb showed up a few minutes later causing more excitement to this growing dinner. "Hey Dylan." Caleb walked in and gave him a quick hug. Caleb seemed like a really nice guy, he was quiet, and he obviously cared a great deal for his family. "Emma, it's always a pleasure to see you too." They had only met once or twice but when she stood up to say hello, he pulled her into a quick fierce hug to which she responded with equal enthusiasm.

"Caleb, is that you?" They could hear Norma call from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm in the living room with Dylan and Emma." He called back to her. A few moments later she walked in wiping her hands on her apron.

"I'm really glad you could make it Caleb." She said earnestly, although it was strange to see him again, she was glad he was a part of her life. With Norman not doing so well, and her struggle to build a relationship again with Dylan, it was nice to see a friendly face.

"You too." He looked around. "It's a nice place you got here Norma, I couldn't help but notice… Do you still play at all?" He gestured to the piano.

"Well, god it's been a little while, and I'm probably not too good anymore." She hesitated. Dylan gave Emma a knowing look.

"Play something for me Norma Louise." He asked. "Please?"

"Oh, alright." She smiled and sat down. "I don't know… Do you remember this one, from when we were kids?" She started playing, just chords at first, but then she started to quietly sing a long. "Although, we're apart, you're part of my heart, but tonight, you belong to me." She paused, "Come on you remember this one right?" Caleb smiled and sat next to Norma at the piano.

" 'Course I do." She started to play and sing again, she taking the melody, and Caleb taking the harmony.

"Wait down by the stream, how sweet it will seem, once more just to dream in the silvery moonlight. My honey I know (I know), with the dawn that you will be gone but tonight, you belong to me, just a little old me." They finished singing and the room was silent.

Emma could tell that he inherited his singing voice from his parents definitely, it was almost entrancing to hear them sing together. All the while Dylan stood by her, he had never seen his parents interact in this way before. He had to say that it made him feel really good inside, no fighting, and his father hadn't tried to hit him as Sam did, it was all perfect in that moment. Emma silently squeezed his arm, and leaned over to whisper, "I can see where you get your singing voice from." That caused him to shudder as her breath tickled his ear.

"That was amazing Norma!" Emma exclaimed before Dylan could have a chance to react to what she had said.

"Thank you sweetie," She turned to Caleb, "you too Caleb." She turned to face her small audience. Alex was standing against the doorway, and for the first time she thought ever, she saw him smiling. Alex was not an emotional man, but this smile reached his eyes causing his entire face to be lit up.

"Truly beautiful Norma." Alex said from the door.

"Yeah mom, good job." Dylan said from the couch. This caused Norma to almost tear up, Dylan never called her mom, and she took it whenever she could get it, it truly warmed her heart.

"Yes mother. Very good job. Don't you think the food needs tending mother?" Norman said from the other doorway. He did not like all of these people taking his mother's attention away.

"Thanks honey! Yes, I'll be right in." She got up and walked past Alex to get into the kitchen. They all felt a slight mood shift, jealous Norman was never a good thing.

Dinner went on mostly without a hitch, and of course Norma did not disappoint with her cooking as usual. After dinner, Emma offered to help Norma bring in dishes. "Sure sweetie, just set them in the sink, I can have Norman wash them." She turned to Norman.

"Of course mother." He smiled innocently at her and walked into the kitchen.

"Well, I'd better be going." Sheriff Romaro said over the top of his coffee mug.

"Oh, are you sure you can't stay longer?" Norma questioned from her seat.

"No, I really should be going, but thank you so much for everything tonight Norma." He stood up and pushed his chair in. He hadn't realized that Caleb had already left, he knew that it was his cue to go as well.

"Well at least let me walk you to the door." Norma smiled and walked after him.

"How much do you wanna bet they kiss?" Dylan elbowed Emma as he heard the footsteps fade towards the door.

"Well, if you factor in all the flirty glances, and many "accidental" arm brushes, I'd say his chances are pretty good." While yes she was talking about Alex and Norma, she also meant the recent chemistry she could feel between herself and Dylan. She was afraid to admit it at first, but she realized that she liked Dylan.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, could she be picking up what he's been hinting at?

"Yeah, I think so." Emma said almost dreamily. Norma came walking in right at that exact moment.

"Tonight was really great, thank you for being here with us Emma." She could sense that she had interrupted something, she had her hunches but she was trying to figure out what was going on between Emma and Dylan. ' _I know there's something.'_ She smirked to herself.

"Thank you again Norma, for having me." She took that as her cue to leave too, it was getting late.

"Here let me walk you to your car." Dylan said suddenly standing up, he wanted to finish what he had started talking about with her before Norma came in.

"Sure, I'll just say a quick goodbye to Norman." She peaked her head into the kitchen. "Bye Norman!"

"Oh, you're leaving?" He dried his hands and walked over to her. "It was great seeing you Emma." He hugged briefly.

"You too Norman." She watched as he headed back over to the sink. Then she turned to the door. Norma had followed her youngest son into the kitchen to help wash dishes.

It was much colder outside than it was during the day time. Dylan offered her his coat and she, with very minimal protest, put it on. He walked close to her to shield her from the growing wind.

"Thank you again for inviting me tonight Dylan, it was really lovely to spend time with, your family… and you." She looked up at him from the side of her little red bug.

"Emma… the pleasures mine, really." He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in his jacket, or how cute she looked in general. ' _Screw it.'_ He thought. "Emma, would you like to go out again sometime, like on a date?"

She couldn't believe it, he'd finally done it. "I thought you would never ask." She looked down at her feet.

"Great! Awesome. Good." He laughed apprehensively, ' _This girl…'_ He smirked.

"Okay, good. Call me or text me, I'll make sure to keep my phone near me." She could barely contain herself, Dylan Massett had just asked her on a date! "Oh! You're jaket, here." She started to slide it off her shoulders, but Dylan's hand stopped her.

"Keep it for now, it looks good on you." He flashed his winning Massett smile, causing Emma to shiver despite still having a coat on.

 **So guys after the first chapter what did you think? There is still a lot to come for Emma and Dylan, so please like and leave a review! Thanks guys :)**

"Thank you." She smiled and unlocked the door to her car.

"Hold on." Dylan put his hand on the door frame to stop her from opening it. "Come here." He didn't want to kiss her yet and risk ruining the moment, so he settled for a hug and pulled her in close to him.

Emma could not think of a better place in the world to be than in Dylan's arms while wearing his coat. His strong muscular arms held her steady in place, for she feared if he hadn't her legs might have given way beneath her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys hope you all are enjoying it so far! This chapter has been edited so feel free to reread it, this way I think it flows better and it goes along better with the actual story line from Bates Motel. Enjoy!**

 ***I do not own Bates Motel or any of its characters (etc.)***

It been three days since Emma's episode, her father made her stay bed since then, and Emma didn't know how much more she could take of it, meanwhile Dylan hadn't been in contact with her since then, and Norma and Norman weren't much help either.

*Previously*

"Hello Dylan, Emma's just upstairs if you'd like to see her. She would appreciate the company actually." Will smiled to Dylan, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, since Emma had gotten sicker, he couldn't find it in himself to pretend to be happy when Emma wasn't around. He was getting more and more worried as each day came and went that they would never get the call. When Emma was about fourteen, he added her to the list for a lung transplant.

"Mr. Decody, I'm actually here to speak to you." He stood tall and said what he came here to say, "Sir is there anything that can be done for Emma, I-we all care about Emma so much, is there something that can be done to push her higher on the transplant list or something?"

This was a lot for Mr. Decody to take in at first, it definitely was unexpected from Dylan, from what he had heard from Emma, he liked Dylan, he reminded him of his younger self, outwardly always showing a strong front, but when it came to the things he really cared about, he would go to the ends of the earth for it. "Well, Emma's name is on the list, and to push her up, I would have to find $20,000 dollars, and believe me I'm trying, but I just don't have that kind of money." He put the bird down that he had been refeathering. Will looked to Dylan he could see the pain in his eyes, it was the same pain that he had in his eyes when he first found that Emma was sick.

"Is that what it takes?" Dylan said seriously. He was getting an idea.

Will was a bit taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Is that what she needs to be moved up the list?"

"Yes?" Will wondered where Dylan was going with this.

"I can get you the money, but you have to promise me you won't tell Emma where you got it from."

Regularly Will would say that he couldn't accept it, but since all Emma's gotten was worse, he nodded to Dylan.

"You'll have it by Friday." He nodded and turned to walk out.

"Dylan." Will wanted to stop him before he left.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Tuesday Emma worked a few hours under her father's approval she was just getting ready to head home when her phone rang.

"Hello Dylan." She said leaning on the front desk.

"Hello Emma." He echoed, smirking.

"I like how we're being all formal with each other now." She laughed nervously.

"Uh.. Yeah, look, I just… I wanted to… to call and check on you and see how you're feeling," he suddenly felt like an idiot, "Are you cured?" ' _And now I actually am an idot.'_ He thought.

"Yeah totally. No more CF." She enjoyed this," I'm… I'm okay. I'm actually at the motel today, my dad says I can work a few hours here and there." She had to barter, but her father eventually caved although he would never admit it.

"That's good."

"Yeah, because I'm… I'm sure nothing is more fun than… than working in that office so... " She was rambling, as she did when she was nervous, "Oh, will you be home later?"

Dylan rubbed the back of his head. He was off the side of the road somewhere in upstate Washington, Caleb had insisted on pulling over to get something. "Actually, that… That's why I was calling." He paused, he felt so terrible lying to her, but if she knew the truth, then she wouldn't let it happen. "I'm gonna be on the road for a few days, so… I-I'm… I'm doing a delivery to make some extra money."

Emma couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, and she could tell it showed in her voice. "Oh, what do you need the money for? The farm?" She thought that everything was going really well with everything, but then again, she wasn't the one dealing with bills, or taxes.

"Yeah, it's uh… It's expensive, you know, building the… The barn and… and stuff, so…" He felt like his brain had shut down. ' _With the way I'm continuing on, we'll be here for at least another five days, Jesus.'_ He mentally kicked himself.

Luckily Emma swooped in to break the silence, "It sure is a beautiful little spot, Dylan."

"Yeah it is, but anyways, um, I, uh… I just… I wanted to call and tell you that, and um.. let you know that if you needed me for anything, well, I'm completely unavailable, so.." He laughed.

"Oh well thank you for that." Emma smiled, he had just called to talk to her, "I'll be sure not to have an emergency while you're gone."

"Perfect, perfect." He needed to wrap this up before Caleb got too suspicious, "All right, take care of yourself, and um… I'll see you in a few days."

"Okay… Safe travels." She wished for the next few days to go quickly.

"Thanks."

"Bye." She waited.

"Hmm. Bye." He huffed, he hated that the hospital wouldn't allow her to be bumped higher on the list, not that he minded going to the extra length for her, just that it didn't seem fair that she has gotten the short end of the stick time and time again.

It was Thursday and Emma was itching to get out of bed, in all honesty she was feeling much better today than she had been. She thought she would get up and go down stairs, and if she was feeling okay when she got there, then she would drive out to the motel, just to see how Dylan, Norma, and Norman were doing, no harm in that right?

"Emma, what are you doing out of bed." Her dad said to her as he walked in, mug in hand.

"Dad please, I've been up there for days, I feel so much better today, and I'm taking it easy. I want to live my life still." She somewhat regretted that last part, her dad was just trying to keep her from getting sicker, but she wanted to live what life she had left to the fullest.

"I know baby, I just worry about you so. You're right, it is your life, but I don't want you to be reckless." He knew that she was an adult now, but she was his baby girl, and he would do anything he could to keep her safe, he vowed that the first time he saw her in the hospital when she was born, and he intended to keep his word for as long as he could. "Fine, but don't think you've won this argument." He couldn't help but smile at her, there was a lot of him, but even more of her mother in her, it made him sad to think that Victoria missed out of what a wonderful woman she had become.

"I love you dad."

"Love you too darlin'." He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. He watched as she walked out the door and headed out in her red buggy. "More than you know."

Emma made her way down the road and turned to the old highway that lead to the Bates Motel, where she hoped to find answers as to why no one had been in contact with her since her phone call with Dylan. The weather was definitely starting to change as it got almost unseasonably cold where everyone on the street was wearing coats. Since she had gotten sicker, she'd all but forgotten that her birthday was coming up on Saturday, she would be nineteen.

Although the motel was never exceedingly busy, there were always a few cars parked in front of the motel complex, along with Normas car, and usually Dylan's blue truck, but today it was nowhere to be seen. She walked up the steps to the Bate's house.

"Emma, what are you doing here?" Norma said opening the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter I toyed around with first person a little, tell me what you guys think! Enjoy!**

After the talk with Emma's dad I knew what I needed to do. Caleb mentioned a job to me a few days ago about a gun run that paid $25,000, I'd done worse for less before so I figured this would be the deciding factor. Emma means so much to me, and I could kick myself for not realizing it sooner. I didn't ever want to drag my family, or anyone close to my family into the kind of shit I had going on when I worked in the drug company. So I let Norman have Emma, but seeing as he had his chance, and blew it, and now that I've got my own business to tend to that's not illegal I can allow myself this.

Caleb wasn't too keen on the idea when I immediately said I would do it, but he knew I wouldn't be suaded to back out. His only wish is that he went with me, to keep me safe.

It was light work getting the guns all the way to Canada, but I couldn't help but worry if we didn't get back in time…

It went down as planned, now just getting back home in less than a day would be the real challenge. Caleb and I left early in the morning and decided shifts would be the most efficient way to do this.

"You really care about her, don't you Dylan?" Caleb asked from the driver's seat. He kept shooting glances over to me as he asked.

It was weird talking to my father about this, we did not have what you would call a normal relationship, so I didn't know how to do this whole "bonding" with him. "Well, yeah I do. Of course."

"I've always liked her." Caleb smiled looking forward to the road.

"I don't need your approval." I don't know why I felt the need to be defensive, it was second nature to me I guess.

"I know you don't, but I'm just saying, you picked a real good one to go for." Caleb calmly spoke to me, and he, unlike Norma, didn't give it back to me.

"Uh… Thank's dad." It was still strange for me to say, so I usually didn't, but sometimes it just slips out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Lovlies! Hope you enjoy whats happening so far, I tried out a bit of first person back there, what did you think? Let me know, and any ideas on what I could be doing better are much appreciated! I hope you enjoy!**

 **An unexpected surprise:**

Back at home Emma was still trying to figure out what was going on. "I'm so sorry Norma, I should have called before I came over." She felt horrible, ' _I was too busy thinking of my own selfish needs to remember that these people have lives.'_ She reminded herself.

"No, no, sweetie it's fine, it's just, you're sick… Does your father know you're here right now?" She eyed Emma suspiciously, she trusted her, but she kept it on a reign, as much as she loved Emma, she was still a teenage girl and who didn't rebel a little at her age? She remembered one night when her father was especially bad off, and her and Caleb snuck out the back door and spent the night by the river through the woods in their back yard just holding each other and crying when her fathers cries could be heard from deep within the woods. She shook herself of the thought and dragged her mind back to the present day.

"Of course." She was a little annoyed that everyone was constantly so worried about her, she was able to do things that everyone else could, she wasn't a baby that needed to be coddled. Norma's face softened.

"I'm sorry Emma, we all just worry about you, that's all." She took Emma's hands in hers, she often thought of Emma as the daughter she never had, and in many ways she was.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I was behaving childishly." Emma admitted.

"Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong Emma." Hoping to find the reason to her surprise visit, she asked, "So Emma, what brings you here today?"

"Well, I just wanted to see how you guys were doing." She smiled at Norma who was always delighted to have Emma's company.

"We are all doing well, Normans well, Dylan went with his father on a business trip in Canada," Norma realized she'd said too much and attempted to cover it up, "Dylan's never been, so he figured he'd go too, he can say he saw it now, same as America, only colder." She laughed hoping this would deter Emma from further questioning.

Emma thought it was really nice that Dylan was agreeing to do something for himself for the first time, and that he was allowing Caleb to be a bigger part of his life. Since her talk on the phone with him she hadn't had any more contact with him.

Emma followed Norma into the living room, "Sit down, I made some lemonade earlier, she quickly returned with two glasses, "So Dylan let on that you play too." Norma smiled almost deviously as Emma's cheeks turned pink, "I found him one night down here playing Heart and Soul, and I know I never taught him that, so I made the connection… don't worry he didn't give you up, I figured it was you." She looked at Emma who was an incredibly sweet girl. "You know, I think it's really sweet. Dylan needs someone like you in his life." Since Dylan had first moved back home, Norma had been working extremely hard to rebuild her relationship with her son.

"Thank you." Was all Emma could manage. Norma invited her to stay for supper since it was already almost six o'clock.

Dylan was almost home after bringing the money to who set out to immediately transfer the money to the hospital. He pulled into the driveway of his mother's motel and noticed the familiar red buggy parked alongside his mother's car. Emma was here, he was glad that he had decided to stop at the Decody's first. He also felt bad, he had completely ignored her for the last few days during his "trip" with Caleb, who was now back at the cabin. He made a silent promise that he would make it up to her birthday Saturday.

He walked up the large concrete steps to his mother's house, in the night, golden light spilled from most of the windows illuminating the dying garden Norma and Norman had planted that spring. He did think it was a beautiful house, even though he would never admit it to anyone he was a sucker for architecture, since he was a kid, he would build things out of sticks, and rocks, and building blocks (when he could get his hands on them).

From the kitchen they heard the door open, Emma immediately looked to the hall to see if it was Dylan coming. "Hey… uh, I'm home." He called to no one in particular, he dropped his bag at the foot of the stairs, then headed towards the kitchen where he hoped to see Emma.

"Hello Dylan we were just eating dinner, if you want to grab a plate, we can pull up a chair, there's room here." Norma gave Emma a knowing smile, pushing an empty chair next to her, which caused her to blush furiously.

"Thanks Norma." He pulled a seat next to Emma, while Norma got his plate. He looked to Emma who was now quietly pushing the food around her plate, "Hey… uh… aren't you going to ask how my trip was?" He elbowed her playfully..

"I'm sorry Dylan, how was it?" She looked up into his bright blue eyes, she was captivated by the intensity of them, when she was younger she wished she had eyes like his, but now, looking into them, she could settle for this instead. She could imagine herself waking up next to them every morning, ' _Emma, stop it.'_ She shook her head of the thought.

"Good." He said casually and smiled into his cup. "Although I probably need a shower because I've been in that car for like seventy-two hours."

"Yeah that's okay, I can't smell anything… I've got tubes in my nose, but…"

"Haha, well thank you then." He smirked and took a big swig of his water. Norma brought his food and they continued to eat.

"I'm glad you had a good time with Caleb honey." Norma passed a basket of rolls to Norman who had been more preoccupied with eating rather than socializing, she was glad that he was eating more, she had began to worry that he wasn't eating enough. His episodes had somewhat quelled for the time being.

Emma was surprised to see that her father was out when she got home, especially since he hadn't texted her of any plans he'd made. Dinner was great as always at the Bates, she had left shortly after they had finished eating, she had walked in the living room to find Dylan dozing off on the couch, she said her goodbye's to Norman and Norma, who promised she'd relay the message to Dylan in the morning.

She trudged up the stairs to her room, and fell into a peaceful sleep on top of her bed. It had been a good day. She fell quickly into a dreamless sleep, which was most unusual for her.

She was roused by her father early in the morning. "Emma, Emma?" He gently shook her.

"Yeah dad, what's up?" She didn't like having to be up so early on a day where she wouldn't have to be at work until twelve, but she allowed it since she never heard her father come home last night.

"I just wanted to say sorry for not telling you where I was last night, and not coming home until late." She sat up so that they were eye level. "I had a taxidermy customer emergency I had to tend to last night." He felt bad lying to his daughter, but it would all be worth it soon.

"That's okay, I just was worried about you being safe." She usually would just go back to sleep after being woken up, but to tell the truth, she was actually really excited to turn nineteen, one year older, and since she was getting sicker, each birthday was a gift to have.

Once her dad left she figured she'd go sit in the living room and use her laptop to look up new songs to learn on the piano, since that night with Dylan she had taken to playing more again. She could tell her father was pleased to hear it again, so she decided she wouldn't let herself give up on something she had worked so hard to learn.

The phone rang in the other room, and she could hear her dad shuffling to get it, "I got it!" he called across the house, she couldn't help at smile at that. She focused back on her screen, ' _I wouldn't do it like that.'_ She thought as she watched two people play Pachelbel's Canon in D major.

"Emma?" her dad walked in with the phone still in his hand.

"Yeah dad?" She paused her video. "Whats wrong?"

"The hospitals just called, they have a set of lungs that are ready to donate, and you're next on the transplant list." He said quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys I'm really excited for this chapter, hope you are too! Enjoy :D**

Dylan had just gotten off the phone with Will, apparently Emma had disappeared after he told her the news of the lungs, and he was freaking out because if they weren't there before the day was over they would be donated to the next in line.

"Jesus, okay, I'll go out and look for her." He put his phone on the dashboard of his car and set off driving. ' _If I was Emma where would I go?'_ He thought hard as he drove through town, and then it hit him. She was always talking about how beautiful the scenery was at his cabin, he had to check. He pulled up the long dirt road that lead up to a small clearing where his cabin was, and sure enough he saw her red buggy parked in front. It was a clear September morning, not too cold, but not exactly warm either, it was much nicer than the last few days weather which had been rainy and cold. The sun was just up over the water tinting everything a burnt orange.

He pulled up next to her car and got out, the front door seemed to be undisturbed, so he made his way to the back, where it overlooked the water. Sure enough, Emma was standing at the edge of the water watching the small waves hit the tips of her shoes. He walked slowly over to her, as if not to disturb her.

"Hi."

"Hi." She turned to look at him. "You're probably wondering why I'm here."

"Not so much, no." He noticed she'd been crying. "Your dad told me. You need to get down to Portland." He watched her face as he spoke, unmoving and tense, "He said you disappeared. He's worried about you."

" I know he's in a tough spot, he has to tell me that it's the right thing to do because there's no sensible reason to say no to it, i just…" she paused, stating the inevitable, "I just don't want to die. It's as simple as that."

"Yeah, but it… is isn't… Isn't that the whole point of having the surgery?" He knew he had to turn this around.

He remembered the first day that he met Emma, she had come to see Norman. He remembered opening the door and being taken aback, he thought she was beautiful, that was when she used to pin back her bangs. He remembered her coming into the house and walking straight past him to find Norman. He remembered her totally ignoring him when he said hello. He thought about how now, almost everything was different.

"No… transplants aren't a given. People reject organs everyday. Lungs are especially tricky." She'd, against her better judgement, read hundreds of articles about transplants, and not all of them were good. "You know, some person is brain dead on a ventilator and we're all like acting like, "Oh, great, let's just put those lungs into Emma." It doesn't work like that." She knew this wasn't his fault, but still she continued. "What if I'm not a good match? That's more likely to happen than not. Then I've wasted this poor dead person's lungs, and whatever little bit of life I have left here on this earth."

"Yeah, but, I mean…" ' _Think!' ,_ "people do have these surgeries. You know, they… they survive, they… they go on to extend their lives."

"Yeah, that is true, but… I don't want to spend the rest of my life being poked and prodded and analyzed and evaluated. Always living with the constant threat every day that my body will somehow turn on me and start to reject the lungs." Dylan watched as Emma opened up. "Now at least… at least this way, I can… I can just live in denial.

No, he was not backing down. "It's not imminent."

"It's not like I'm up against this question every day. Will my body not screw me over today, you know? I just… you know, I want to have some control over my life."

"Emma… Emma, come on." He reached for her arm.

"No, don't… I look ridiculous when I cry." She sniffled.

"Look, you're the least ridiculous person that I've ever known." He forced her to face him. "Y-you.. you're wiser than most people twice your age, and you're the bravest person that I know." He looked down at her, "You're a freaking warrior." Her face softened as she reached up to kiss him, a spark ran through her as she gasped hungrily at his mouth, while intense, there was a definite sweetness to it, that left her yearning for more. Then they both were laughing.

"Um.. What were we talking about?" She giggled.

"I have no idea." He smiled, he had never been so happy. "Hey, you can, uh, you can always think of me as being the guy who hit on you right before you had a lung transplant."

"Are you hitting on me?" She teased.

"Well, if you don't know, then I'm doing a pretty shitty job." She laughed at their playfulness.

"I guess I'm getting this dumb lung transplant, aren't I?" Her father was a major reason for why she resigned herself to do so, but she would be a damn liar if she said that her feelings for Dylan did not give her a stronger will to take a chance to keep on living.

"You have to." He barely spoke the words.

"Don't pressure me or anything."

"But you have to."

"I know."

He stood there holding her for a long while, taking everything in.

 **Wow so it finally happened! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! A lot is about to happen for Emma, stay tuned!**


	7. Chapter 7

Emma remembered the doctors telling her to count backwards from ten, she made it to about 8, then everything went dark.

Dylan had been pacing the hallways of the hospital for nearly five hours now. Mr. Deocody had called Dylan about four hours into her ten hour surgery, and after the hour drive to the hospital and the five hours of pacing, this put him right at the ten hour mark. Any minute doctor would be coming to give the news of Emma's surgery. sat closest to the doorway of the lobby, just as on edge as Dylan was.

"Dylan, I know you really care about my daughter, and I want you to know that I support you and her." He looked up from his spot on the floor he had been staring at for roughly forty-five minutes.

"Thank you sir." It was nice to have Mr. Decody's approval, as if on cue a doctor came into the room eyes scanning the room.

"Are either of you Will Decody?" He said looking to Dylan and Will.

"I am Will Decody." He said standing up, "How's my daughter, how is Emma?" Will was desperate to know.

He thought back to before Emma had been diagnosed, granted she was just a young child then, but he remembered. They used to have to race around the house to keep up with her, she was always so quick, neither he, nor Victoria could hold onto her too long, she was so lively and spirited, even for a child of her age. There was an instance where he had taken her for the day to the playground and in the span of the 20 seconds it took to tie his shoe she had disappeared, he remembered panic he felt as he looked around for her, although it didn't last long when he heard a giggling from above him, Emma had shimmied up the metal pole that held the swings up and was smiling down at him. She had always come back to him.

"Emma's out of surgery now, she'll be in the recovery room for another hour at most until the anesthesia can be adjusted based on her condition." Will took a breath.

"So she's okay?" Dylan said from behind Will.

"There were no complications during the surgery, and with the information provided about both her and the lungs she was receiving, they lined up as compatible as it could get given the circumstances." The doctor smiled, delivery of good news was his favourite part of the job.

"When can I see her?" Will had finally found his voice, but it was raw and quiet. He feared if he had tried to speak any louder he would risk losing it.

"She's going to need to be closely supervised for the next week or two, but you can see her in about hour when we bring her out of recovery. Neither of you are sick, correct?" He looked to them both. They shook their heads. "Good, infection will be the most dangerous thing for her right now, so please remember to wash your hands and use masks when entering her room for the next few days. Also, don't expect her to be awake, the first day will be the hardest for her. What she needs now is time." He looked at his clipboard before turning to walk out of the hall way. "I will come get you in about an hour." With that he disappeared around the corner.

' _She's okay… she's okay.'_ Dylan thought to himself. He had never been so scared in his life, especially being someone he deeply cared about.

"Oh my god Dylan, she's okay." Will turned to him, he seemed as overcome as him. He walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. "She's okay." He repeated.

"We knew she would be." Dylan hugged back. Will was glad to have someone there with him for support.

The noises around her were foreign and rhythmic, her whole body felt as if she'd been hit by Dylan's big blue truck. Thirty times. But her eyes remained closed as if glued shut. She let her mind cloud over as she drifted back out into unconsciousness.

The noises around her interrupted dreamless sleep again, this time more demanding, as if her old school alarm was going off. She opened her eyes now, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the sheer white light that was surrounding her. ' _Am I dead?'_ was her first thought, ' _If I was dead I wouldn't feel like this.'_ she assured herself. Slowly her eyes adjusted, she was in a bright hospital room full of beeping equipment, to her left she could hear a steady breathing. Her eyes wandered down to where the noise was coming from, and then she saw him, a mess of blond hair, Dylan's head lay sideways on her bed, his hand carefully on top of hers, which had long IV tubes coming from at least three different spots on her arm.

She attempted to move her fingers, her joints were so stiff from their lack of use so it took her a few tries to get a successful movement, she squeezed Dylan's hand beneath her gripping as lightly as she could. This caused him to stir beneath her, she didn't want to wake him, but she could tell she already had.

She watched as he lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. He looked over where Emma had been unmoving for nearly a week. He was beginning to seriously wonder if she'd ever wake up. Their eyes met, a shocked silence filled Dylan's mind as he saw her brown eyes open, and the softest smile splayed on Emma's face. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. All he could say was, "Emma."

"Dylan." She whispered back. They sat looking at each other and just enjoyed the silence and each other's company until Emma's father Will came in.

"You're awake!" He nearly dropped the coffees he was holding as he rushed over to her bedside.

"I'll leave you guys alone." Dylan smiled at Will, who was openly crying for his daughter.

"You'll be back Dylan?" She asked before he walked out.

"Of course." He said before shutting the door, he took a deep breath and headed into the hallway.

Emma had been in the ICU for nearly a week when she woke up, during that time Dylan would make the hour long drive from White Pine Bay to Portland, up until three days ago when Norma suggested he stay at a motel closer to the hospital. Speaking of Norma, he had to call her and tell her the news, she was just as worried as anyone about Emma, in a way she became an adoptive mother, not that she was necessarily the best choice, but she treated Emma like the daughter she never had, Dylan wondered that if the circumstances with Norman had been different, if she would have had another child? He pulled out his phone and walked over an empty waiting room, over the last two weeks he had become very familiar with the hospital, and knew where the best places to go to be alone were.

"Mom," he said after he heard the phone pick up, "it's Emma, she's awake." He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Oh, Dylan. That's wonderful honey." She knew how much her son cared for Emma, and these last few days had been especially hard. "I'm going to come up in the afternoon, Norman can manage the hotel then."

"That sounds good, I just thought you would want to know." He said into the phone, it was just starting to really hit him that things could be okay.

"Bye Dylan, I'll see you soon." Norma said into her cell phone. She had been in the middle of the grocery store when she got the call, Alex had ran into her there and she had decided to tag along with him as he shopped, since their kiss, she had been looking for a reason to spend more time with him, she was beginning to develop deeper feelings for him, and she was pretty sure that he felt the same. The phone clicked, Dylan had hung up.

"What happened Norma?" Alex walked over from the deli.

"It was Dylan," she started to tear up, and Alex's eyes widened mistaking her tears for sadness.

"Oh no." He pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry Norma."

"Alex, no. She's okay, she woke up. She woke up." She leaned against him.

"Thank god, Jesus Christ I was scared for a minute, that's excellent news Norma." They must of looked strange embracing in the middle of the deli, but he didn't care, and people wouldn't dare to question the sheriff and Norma Bates.

Back at the hospital, Dylan made his way back over to her room. Her door was open now, and along with her father was a team of two doctors along with him. He slowly approached her door, his heart beating faster with every step closer he got to her.

Through the door Emma watched as doctors surrounded her probing her with questions and checking the constantly beeping equipment that surrounded her. Her father sat as patiently as he could watching as they inspected Emma her machines. The constant questions were somewhat annoying, she couldn't help but think of them as a reminder that she was alive and that she had survived. Sure, her chest was painfully sore, but the doctors promised that they would up her medication just as soon as they were done. In all of this she wondered where Dylan had wondered off to? She had seen him walk out once her father came in, then the hoard of doctors came in and they had blocked her view of the door.

"Just one final adjustment Ms. Decody." The doctor said keeping to his promise and fiddling with the equipment that must of contained her pain medication, because she noticed the drips from the bag that through a series of tubes connected to her arm start to drip slightly faster.

"Thank you Doctor…" Her father waited for him to fill in the blank.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm doctor Jones." He shook her father's hand, "I was one of the doctors who conducted your daughters operation." Emma couldn't help but smile at his name, Dylan would get a kick out of her having a doctor named Jones, when she was feeling better she would have to ask if his first name was Indiana.

"Aren't you a bit young?" Her father asked as turned to leave the room. He just smiled and left with the clipboard he had come with, following en suite with the other two doctors that had left before him. "Why did he just smile at me, I asked him a question?" Her father mumbled after he left.

"Dad, I'm sure he's qualified just fine, I'm here, aren't I?" Emma smiled, perfectly content with everything in the world at this moment.

"I know pumpkin."

Dylan waited for the doctors to leave before he made his way over to her room. He knocked lightly on the door before called him in. The room somewhat less full since he was in there last, probably less machinery. Hopefully.

"Dylan." He looked to see Emma at the bed sitting up more than before, beautiful as ever.

"Emma." He walked to the other side of her bed and sat down, the nurse must have turned the television on in her room, because he could vaguely make out the sound of back to school commercials, but that wasn't his focus right now.

"I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat and probably call Thomas to see how he's holding up." Her father stood up awkwardly and walked out quickly.

"Wow, usually he isn't so eager to leave me alone with a handsome man." Emma giggled, she could start to feel the morphine beginning to act in her system.

"Is that so?" He sat close to her even though his chair would only move forward so far with her bed in the way. He could sense that she was inebriated with some sort of medicine. Firstly, she was now slurring her words, and secondly she wasn't usually so forward with him.

"Yep. My dad is very protective of me you know." She reached for his face with her hand, usually she would never be so unfiltered, but she felt so nice that she didn't particularly care. "Oh." She paused to rubbed his cheek, his face was as scratchy as if looked, covered in short blond hairs. "My doctor is Indiana Jones." Emma scoffed lightly searching Dylan's eyes.

"Oh that is wonderful news." He laughed, he felt bad that she had to be out of it during their time alone, but he hoped that there would be much more time in the future to spend with her. "I'm really glad you're okay Emma." He said on a more serious note, he held the hand she had set against his cheek and placed his lips to her knuckles.

"Me too." She smiled sincerely.

Will Decody arrived with two sandwiches for himself and Dylan, he wanted to talk to the boy about something. He was happy she had Dylan, not just because he had given them the money to bump Emma up, but because he believed that he truly cared about his daughter. Now that she seems to be doing better, he might not have to be so overprotective of her, he knew how he could be, but what father wouldn't worry?

"Hey Emma," Will bent to kiss Emma on her forehead, "I was hoping to borrow Dylan for a moment."

"Of course sir." Dylan stood up and followed out into the hallway. He felt like a sixteen year old again, waiting for a date, ' _that's not even what is happening, come on man you're twenty-one years old. Snap out of it.'_ He reminded himself.

"Dylan, I know it's a lot to ask you, but could you stay with Emma for a few days?" He searched Dylan's face. "I know that it's a lot to ask, and you've already done so much for us, but work is piling up back at home, and I've taken so much time already." Dylan was taken aback, this was not at all what he was expecting. "It would only be for a few days."

Dylan could not have expected that, but, it wasn't a bad thing. "Of course Mr. Decody, I- uh, anything to help out."

"Thank you so much Dylan. I know you care about her a great deal, and I just-I, thank you." Will had never felt so awkward. He knew there was something between Dylan and Emma, but _damn_ , trying to address it was not something he was ready for yet.

"No-uh, no problem." Dylan scratched the back of his head, he was ready for this to be over with. And it was. They headed back to Emma's room where Will told Emma the news of his brief departure to get things back into business while he's been away.

Emma couldn't say she was entirely upset when she found that she would be staying with Dylan for the next few days. She felt as though she was being a horrible daughter by not being more upset that her father was going for a while, and that she was excited to spend them (almost) solely with Dylan.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter I toyed around with first person a little, tell me what you guys think! Enjoy!**

After the talk with Emma's dad I knew what I needed to do. Caleb mentioned a job to me a few days ago about a gun run that paid $25,000, I'd done worse for less before so I figured this would be the deciding factor. Emma means so much to me, and I could kick myself for not realizing it sooner. I didn't ever want to drag my family, or anyone close to my family into the kind of shit I had going on when I worked in the drug company. So I let Norman have Emma, but seeing as he had his chance, and blew it, and now that I've got my own business to tend to that's not illegal I can allow myself this.

Caleb wasn't too keen on the idea when I immediately said I would do it, but he knew I wouldn't be suaded to back out. His only wish is that he went with me, to keep me safe.

It was light work getting the guns all the way to Canada, but I couldn't help but worry if we didn't get back in time…

It went down as planned, now just getting back home in less than a day would be the real challenge. Caleb and I left early in the morning and decided shifts would be the most efficient way to do this.

"You really care about her, don't you Dylan?" Caleb asked from the driver's seat. He kept shooting glances over to me as he asked.

It was weird talking to my father about this, we did not have what you would call a normal relationship, so I didn't know how to do this whole "bonding" with him. "Well, yeah I do. Of course."

"I've always liked her." Caleb smiled looking forward to the road.

"I don't need your approval." I don't know why I felt the need to be defensive, it was second nature to me I guess.

"I know you don't, but I'm just saying, you picked a real good one to go for." Caleb calmly spoke to me, and he, unlike Norma, didn't give it back to me.

"Uh… Thank's dad." It was still strange for me to say, so I usually didn't, but sometimes it just slips out.


End file.
